Red paint sprayed on Scottish Parliament in food insecurity protest

Activists have sprayed red paint across the front of the Scottish Parliament building in Edinburgh in protest against rising food insecurity.

This Is Rigged campaigners say a quarter of Scots have experienced food insecurity since 2023 and displayed banners reading “hunger is a political choice” and “one in four Scots”.

The group is calling on the Scottish Government to fund and implement a community food hub for every 500 households in Scotland.

It also wants supermarkets to reduce the cost of baby formula to March 2021 prices.

This Is Rigged campaigner Theo Milligan, 21, a hospitality worker from Edinburgh, said: “It’s vitally important we take action now, we will not stand for these rising prices and we demand the Government will commit to helping its citizens in this time of food crisis.”

This Is Rigged have vowed to continue to escalate actions until their demands are met.

Activists used three fire extinguishers of red paint to spray the building on Monday.

Louis Wombacher, 21, a gardener, also of This Is Rigged, said: “There has been an increase in Victorian-era diseases such as malnutrition, scurvy and rickets, diseases which can easily be eradicated and prevented with easy access to food.”

The Scottish Parliament and Police Scotland have been contacted for comment.